Restoration underway for double-height Bexar County courtroom

This week, members of Bexar County Commissioners Court got their first look at their future home: a double-height room that originally served as the historic courthouse’s main courtroom.

Located on the second and third floors of the north end of the Bexar County

Courthouse, the courtroom will seat about 200 people in floor and gallery-level seats. The courthouse was completed in 1897, but the courtroom’s traditional gallery level was closed when a floor was added between the levels in the 1960s.

“This is going to be incredible,” said County Judge Nelson Wolff. “It’s just beautiful. Did you see the windows?”

Fourteen rose windows were uncovered when the extra floor was removed, and will function as windows when the work is complete sometime next year. Natural light flooded the corner room on Tuesday, when commissioners and their staff held a working lunch there to give the architects input on the room’s layout.

When commissioners aren’t using it, the room will likely be used for court cases, particularly in high-profile situations, said District Attorney Susan Reed, who stopped by Tuesday to add her input, too.

“It’s just fabulous. I sure wouldn’t mind it being mine if I were still a judge,” Reed said.

The room is part of Bexar County’s $11 million courthouse renovation project, and the Texas Historical Commission contributed $2.5 million for the courtroom.

Double-height courtroom rendering by Fisher Heck Architects

County commissioners and staff attend a working lunch in the historic double-height courtroom. Photo by Eva Ruth Moravec